Perspectives in Laboratory Animal Science (See the latest issue) "In India, there is an urgent need to get a single directive on the appropriate and relevant use of animals in education and research which is equally applicable in all institutions."

Plenty of robots can fly -- but none can fly like a real bird. That is, until Markus Fischer and his team at Festo built SmartBird, a large, lightweight robot, modeled on a seagull, that flies by flapping its wings. A soaring demo fresh from TEDGlobal 2011.

New FRAME Training school date announced. When scientists carry out experiments it is vitally important they are well designed, otherwise they may waste resources or give the wrong answers. This is especially serious when animals are used. FRAME promotes this important message to researchers worldwide and, in particular, new, young scientists by arranging training schools in Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis.

Alternatives to dissection: kit that includes a model to "dissect" rather than encouraging the killings of millions of animals. I teach my children that every life is important, and that it is wrong to kill an animal unnecessarily.